By Jake McCall

Ever so often a new (old) claim will arise stating that the lost tomb of Jesus has been discovered. The last newsworthy claim of such came a few years ago with many outlets verifying that the bones of Jesus had, in fact, been found and that this particular find would be hard to deny. In the midst of this news, I distinctly remember reading an article that contained an interview of a number of Christians that, following their church service, were asked if this would affect their church attendance or Christian life.

They proudly responded by saying that nothing would change and they would continue in church just as they had always done. With their response, I realized that Church was obviously important to them but I also sadly realized that their worship must have revolved around something other than Jesus. They did not realize the magnitude of the threat of such a claim. If, with certainty, the bones of Jesus had been found we would have no reason to just continue on like before. Prayer would not make sense. Worship would not make sense. Church would not make sense. Why would these things no longer make sense? Why should we so desperately depend on this truth of Jesus rising from the dead? In 1 Corinthians 15:17, with this very thing in mind, the Apostle Paul says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”

In agreement with Paul, I would proclaim that if Jesus’ bones are ever found then it would be the end of true Christianity and the true Church and our sins would still be counted against us. However, we need not worry. Paul also told the Church at Corinth in 1 Cor. 15:6 that after His death, Jesus appeared in the flesh to more than 500 people.

Also, if Paul’s readers wanted to verify that then they could because most of those 500 witnesses were still alive at the time of his writing that letter. Claims will continue to come but trust in this: The bones of Christ are still in tact and the risen Jesus is reigning in heaven at the right hand of God the Father. As Easter Sunday approaches, put all of your eggs in the resurrection basket. Trusting in the resurrection of Christ is what gives us the security of the promise that believers will also rise and live eternally with God and each other. Our faith is dependent on Him overcoming the grave and we can trust that, through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ, our sins are forgiven and one day soon we will see our resurrected Savior.